Our Town
Thornton Wilder's deceptively simple drama has the passion of a poem and the effect, should one heed it, of a sermon on embracing life. Director Sean Murray and Cygnet Theatre offer an updated staging. The casting is "colorblind," which nicely makes "our" town - quite WASP-ish in the original - everyone's. Sylvia M'Lafi Thompson's bold Stage Manager has a touch of the preacher trying to remedy our "ignorance and blindness." Unlike most versions, the cast aims for genuine, rooted emotions. It's a sophisticated approach, but Our Town is as fictive as Brigadoon, and peopled with imaginary innocents. Grounding them in "real" feelings makes the characters less moving. It also works against Wilder's lure: nostalgia for an (allegedly) simpler time. The play's the thing, however, and this one - even with a high tech lighting effect way out of place - retains its knack for awakening our eyes to the richness of life in the things we take for granted.
Worth a try.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, July 10, 2011
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7:30pm |
| Thursdays, 7:30pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 4pm & 8pm |